Page 15 of The Forsaken Heir
Spinning my chair around, I found one of our butlers standing at the entrance to my office.
“Yes, Titus?” I said.
He bowed. “Your father is ready for you.”
“Damn,” I muttered under my breath. “All right. Tell him I’m on my way.”
“Very well.” Titus bowed again and retreated down the hall.
I stuffed my laptop into my leather briefcase and added a few folders, then slung the bag over my shoulder. The house was quiet as I walked down the halls. We only had a skeleton staff on duty. Neither Father nor I enjoyed having servants wait on us hand and foot, but the true reason was one that both stung and shamed me. The dragons were disappearing. Unlike the wolves, who always seemed to be expanding in numbers, our species had been in decline for centuries. It was why I was afraid of increasing tensions with the Laurents. War would be far more devastating to us than them. Although, the odds of staying out of some sort of conflict was lessening by the day.
Bastion Laurent, heir apparent to the Laurent family, had much more aggressive intentions than his father before him. From the intelligence we’d gathered, Bastion was pushing an agenda that leaned into the innate hatred wolves felt for dragons. I feared it was only a matter of time before he or someone doing his bidding sent things tottering over the edge. That kept me awakeat night. Little as the rest of the royal families wanted to admit it, weneededto do all we could for peace.
Titus stood outside Father’s door, awaiting my arrival.
I sighed. “You can announce me.”
Titus opened the door and spoke. “Crown Prince Aurelius Decimus, Your Majesty.”
“Send him in,” Father called, his voice booming from within his study.
Titus stepped aside and let me pass. Father sat behind his huge, ornate desk, the light from his computer screen casting a glow across his face.
He grinned and crossed his arms over his flat, muscled stomach.
“My boy!”
I bowed my head slightly. “Father.”
He waved a hand at me in irritation. “Stop with the formality. We’re alone here, Aurelius. Call me dad.”
I took my seat opposite him and set down my briefcase.
“Okay. Hey,Dad,” I said, grinning at him ruefully.
“Hey,son,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “What should we start with? The trade agreement with the dragon families in the southwest?”
I chuckled. “Do you really call it a trade agreement when they’re under your rule?”
He rolled his eyes. “You know as well as I do that I don’t control our clan with an iron fist. There aren’t many of us, but we arespread across the country. Each region is free to rule themselves in a sense. You know this.”
“I know, Dad. I didn’t mean youshouldforce them to operate under our terms, I just prefer to address things with a sense of reality. We’re the royal family, and every member of our extended clan looks to us. This suggested shipping timeline works for both parties, it really isn’t an issue.”
When my father leaned forward, there was a weariness on his face that I’d never seen before. He was a good king, an honorable man, and a loving father. But he was nearing the age of retirement and abdication. The stress was beginning to show on his face. The lines and wrinkles on his face that had shown up well beyond the age they would for a human had only become more pronounced in the years since my mother’s death. Part of me thought some of my father’s will had shattered when he lost her.
“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “These last few weeks have been difficult. Benedictus has been pushing for us to be aggressive against the Laurents, and he’s beginning to gain traction with other noble houses. I truly missed you while you were away.” He gave me a sad smile. “I rely on you and your mind.”
The question that had been stirring within me since I got word that the council would be meeting early surged in my mind. I decided to ask it before I lost my nerve.
“Why wasn’t I told about the early council meeting, Father?”
He winced at my use of the wordfatherrather thandad. I typically used it as a sign of respect, but now it showed Iwas separating myself, lowering my station beneath him, even though he viewed us as near equals.
“It happened very fast,” he said at last. “Benedictus and the others requested an accelerated timeline.”
“Uh, huh,” I muttered. “Let me guess, there were other things on the agenda that were left out of the meeting once I arrived?”
He frowned. “Now that you mention it, one of the nobles that live within Benedictus’s lands was supposed to give a presentation.”
